We granted certiorari in this case to determine whether a direct appeal, as opposed to a discretionary appeal, lies from the denial of a motion to set aside predicated on the failure of the trial court to notify the losing party of its decision.
Plaintiffs sued defendant on four promissory notes (totalling over $500,000) and the trial court granted plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment. Two months later, defendant moved for permission to file an out-of-time appeal, or, alternatively, to set aside the judgment, alleging neither he nor his attorney received a copy of the summary judgment order. The trial court denied the motion, finding, inter alia, that a copy of the order was mailed by the court and received by defendant’s attorney. Defendant filed a direct appeal which the Court of Appeals dismissed by an order specifying that it lacked jurisdiction because defendant failed to follow the discretionary appeal procedure required by OCGA § 5-6-35 (a) (8). We reverse and remand to the Court of Appeals for consideration of defendant’s appeal on the merits.
In
Cambron v. Canal Ins. Co.,
Citing
Cambron,
the Court of Appeals ruled in
Crawford v. Kroger Co.,
We agree with the Court of Appeals’ analysis in Crawford and adopt its holding that orders entered upon motions to correct a clerical error pursuant to OCGA § 9-11-60 (g) do not require applications to appeal. It follows that the Court of Appeals erred in dismissing defendant’s direct appeal in this case.
Judgment reversed and case remanded.
Notes
OCGA § 15-6-21 (formerly Code Ann. § 24-2620) provides, in part: “[I]t shall be the duty of the judge to file his decision with the clerk of the court in which the cases are pending and to notify the attorney or attorneys of the losing party of his decision.”
